DENVER AND NEW YORK (March 3, 2014) – Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) in partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS) today announced that Chipotle will be the Official Fast-Casual Mexican Restaurant of MLS and 12 MLS Clubs. The sponsorship will be Chipotle’s largest single sports partnership and will feature promotional programs with 12 teams, individual players, and programs across the entire league.

“At the core of our effort to change the way people think about and eat fast food is our commitment to finding better, more sustainable sources for all of the ingredients we use,” said Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle’s chief marketing and development officer. “That value is one that is often shared by people with an active lifestyle. This partnership with MLS will allow us to further engage consumers in a sport we have long supported through grassroots efforts.”

Throughout the 2014 season, Chipotle will work with MLS and the 12 clubs by executing unique promotions and activations to reach MLS fans across the country. Additionally, during the AT&T MLS All-Star Week in August, Chipotle will sponsor the inaugural Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game featuring the nation’s top Homegrown players from MLS Club rosters. Homegrown players from across the league will be chosen by MLS to participate in the game. Details on how MLS fans will be able to watch the game will be released at a later date.

“Chipotle is an incredible brand and has truly embraced MLS’ aspirational position for millions of youth soccer players,” said David Wright, senior vice president of global sponsorship for MLS. “We love the idea of the Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game and we look forward to Chipotle playing an important role in continuing to grow the sport of soccer in this country for years to come.”

In addition to the Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game, Chipotle will also feature an exceptional athlete, boy or girl, during 10 home games per MLS Club as the Chipotle Youth Homegrown Athlete. Each athlete will receive four tickets to the game, special recognition during the game, a chance to meet players and coaches, dinner at Chipotle with his/her team, and the opportunity to host a fundraiser for his/her team at their favorite Chipotle location. Chipotle and each MLS Club will also host free soccer clinics for up to 200 kids utilizing MLS players and coaches to teach soccer fundamentals.

Omar Gonzalez, LA Galaxy Defender, two-time MLS Cup Champion and prominent member of the U.S. Men’s National Team, will represent MLS as the first spokesperson of this unique partnership. Gonzalez will play a vital role in the Homegrown campaign from being featured in anthem and skills videos to promoting the partnership on his social media channels.

To kick-off the partnership, Chipotle will host a March to Soccer promotion in the 12 MLS markets to celebrate the beginning of the MLS season. Soccer fans who come to Chipotle wearing their local MLS Club gear on the date of the team’s home opener can receive a buy-one-get-one deal. The dates and markets for Chipotle’s March to Soccer events are below:

Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food With Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food from using ingredients that are not only fresh, but that—where possible—are sustainably grown and Responsibly Raised™ with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food. In order to achieve this vision, we focus on building a special people culture that is centered on creating teams of top performers empowered to achieve high standards. This people culture not only leads to a better dining experience for our customers, it also allows us to develop future leaders from within. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and currently operates about 1,600 restaurants including six ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants, and is an investor in an entity that owns and operates one Pizzeria Locale. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. MLS features many stars from the U.S., Canada, and around the world. Major League Soccer’s 19th season will feature 19 clubs each playing 34 regular-season matches. Those clubs include the Chicago Fire; Chivas USA; Colorado Rapids; Columbus Crew; D.C. United; FC Dallas; Houston Dynamo; Montreal Impact; New York Red Bulls; New England Revolution; Philadelphia Union; Portland Timbers; Real Salt Lake; San Jose Earthquakes; Seattle Sounders FC; 2013 MLS Cup Champion Sporting Kansas City; Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Expansion teams New York City FC and Orlando City Soccer Club will begin play in 2015. For more information about MLS, log on to the league’s official website at www.MLSsoccer.com.

We can't get a local company like that to sign a shirt sponsor deal...but that same company is willing to splash and even larger amount of money on a league wide deal? I find that mildly irritating actually.

The Rapids shirt sponsorship situation is like watching that fat neckbeard wearing a fedora and an Adventure Time shirt, that only wants to date a supermodels, but can't figure out why no hot women are attracted to him.

Ok, so Chipotle signs a nation wide deal and we can't figure out why they choose as a spokesperson the premiere defender and a national team member with a Hispanic surname on maybe the most marque team in MLS in a huge Hispanic market, over a a couple of Rapids.

Ok, so Chipotle signs a nation wide deal and we can't figure out why they choose as a spokesperson the premiere defender and a national team member with a Hispanic surname on maybe the most marque team in MLS in a huge Hispanic market, over a a couple of Rapids.

Ok, so Chipotle signs a nation wide deal and we can't figure out why they choose as a spokesperson the premiere defender and a national team member with a Hispanic surname on maybe the most marque team in MLS in a huge Hispanic market, over a a couple of Rapids.

We can't get a local company like that to sign a shirt sponsor deal...but that same company is willing to splash and even larger amount of money on a league wide deal? I find that mildly irritating actually.

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MLS is a much bigger market? Advertising on Rapids jerseys is paltry in comparison. National company seeking national attn.

The Rapids are dead last in both Facebook and Twitter followers out all of the 19 teams currently in MLS. Thats a red flag for most people that they have pretty poor brand awareness, particularly in the younger demographics. I don't doubt that this would scare a number of companies away from throwing money at the team.

It also helps to explain why people in Denver still give you blank stares when you mention the Rapids and they have no idea what the hell you're talking about. "Who are the Colorado Rabbits?" It also explains why season ticket numbers are so dismal compared to the rest of the league.

Does this deal mean we will have Chipotle as food option? Or just we and other teams will see their signs in stadium?

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I hope so. At least the Rapids are a partner club. Looks like 7 clubs are not.

Chipotle has a website for this. If you go here, I think: http://www.chipotlehomegrown.com/#team you'll see a pic of the Rapids: looks like O'Neill, Brown, Powers, and Mullan. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you see a list of "partner clubs," and the Rapids logo is included.

The Rapids are dead last in both Facebook and Twitter followers out all of the 19 teams currently in MLS. Thats a red flag for most people that they have pretty poor brand awareness, particularly in the younger demographics. I don't doubt that this would scare a number of companies away from throwing money at the team.

It also helps to explain why people in Denver still give you blank stares when you mention the Rapids and they have no idea what the hell you're talking about. "Who are the Colorado Rabbits?" It also explains why season ticket numbers are so dismal compared to the rest of the league.

Word is - the National deal is less then a shirt deal. I'm pretty sure that's what I heard - sometimes I don't pay attention enough.

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I don't know the terms of the deal but if that is true it really doesn't make much sense and would seem to hurt teams like the Rapids. I'm willing to bet the Chipotle deal with MLS will get much more exposure than if they sponsored the Rapids. If MLS is putting a minimum on jersey sponsorship for teams and allowing other companies a foot in the door for more exposure and less cost it seems like a no brainer for companies to go that route.

I don't know the terms of the deal but if that is true it really doesn't make much sense and would seem to hurt teams like the Rapids. I'm willing to bet the Chipotle deal with MLS will get much more exposure than if they sponsored the Rapids. If MLS is putting a minimum on jersey sponsorship for teams and allowing other companies a foot in the door for more exposure and less cost it seems like a no brainer for companies to go that route.

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Based on what Hinchey has said in the past, the shirt sponsorship the Rapids are looking for (note, not the minimum) is as much annually as Chipotle spends on this type of marketing for the whole company.

Now the Rapids are asking for the league average, about $2.5 million a year. The league minimum is $500K a year for a jersey sponsorship. I can easily see how this deal with MLS might be between those two numbers.

Based on what Hinchey has said in the past, the shirt sponsorship the Rapids are looking for (note, not the minimum) is as much annually as Chipotle spends on this type of marketing for the whole company.

Now the Rapids are asking for the league average, about $2.5 million a year. The league minimum is $500K a year for a jersey sponsorship. I can easily see how this deal with MLS might be between those two numbers.

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Maybe. But again do you think Chipotle would get more exposure for 500K with an MLS deal or 2.5 Million for a Rapids jersey sponsorship. The bottom line is MLS offers more exposure regardless of what the Rapids are asking. What exposure can the Rapids really offer? Chipotle is better off going that route regardless of money. In a single entity league MLS needs to help the teams that can't get a sponsor not undermine those opportunities. That is the logic behind single entity for players and it should be similar for teams and sponsorships.